


Once Upon....

by DebbieF



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Involves a 4-5 year old Daniel Jackson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-21
Updated: 2013-07-21
Packaged: 2017-12-20 22:30:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/892645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DebbieF/pseuds/DebbieF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place anywhere after season 6.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon....

I looked over the horizon and couldn't believe how peaceful  
everything was. I stepped back to admire the view and my thoughts  
saddened me. I'm not going there but he's been missing over a week  
now. I've gotten permission to extend our search a few more days,  
courtesy of a very worried general back home. I ended up saying  
prayers I never even knew I remembered. I've never left anyone behind…  
that's always been my motto and I'm not going to let him get away  
with ruining my record. Up until now I didn't know a _soul_ could  
hurt the way mine's doing. I'm even the one who signed off on the  
damned, and I quote, _simple expedition_. Yeah, _piece of damned_  
 _cake_ my eye. Nothing's ever simple with that man. I swear if we've  
irrevocably lost him… I'll hang up my wings for good this time.  
  
Ah! I see Ferretti and Teal'c coming my way. I hope they have better  
news for me. "Hey, guys… what's up?"  
  
"We'd like you to follow us, O'Neill."  
  
"Yeah… what he said." Lou looked a little green, as if he ate  
something bad.  
  
I keyed my com. "Carter, you there?"  
  
Her transmission was weak, but still could be heard clear  
enough. "Sir, is there a problem? Did you need me to come back?"  
  
"Negative on both. Just wanted to make sure I didn't lose anymore of  
my kids. And you can stop laughing," I added for good measure.  
  
"I didn't say a thing about you being the team's momma hen, Colonel."  
  
"You didn't need to, Carter. It's something you would do. Like –" I  
guess I didn't have to mention his name. She'd know who I meant.  
  
Carter answered in a subdued voice, "Yes, sir."  
  
"Stay put for now. Lou and Teal'c have something they can't wait to  
show me."  
  
"Roger that, Colonel. Carter out."  
  
I could see Lou still looked rattled. The big guy was always harder  
to read. We were about fifteen minutes into our little trek, when my  
 _guides_ came to a halt.  
  
"Okay, boys. What am I supposed to see?"  
  
As the two men parted so I could walk through them, I saw a small  
child examining a huge rock formation.  
  
I treaded carefully. Didn't want to scare the boy out of a few years  
growth. He was a tiny thing. Sun kissed, blond hair and even from  
where I stood, I could tell that his eyes were a startling shade of  
blue. The tyke couldn't have been more than four or five years old.  
His level of concentration surprised me though, as he continued to  
look over the hunk of rock. My presence didn't seem to phase that  
young mind.  
  
Finally the little boy must have felt he wasn't alone anymore. He  
looked my way and my heart skipped a beat. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! It  
was like I went back in time to when he was just an itty bitty thing  
in Egypt. Damn if he doesn't look exactly the same as he did in that  
picture he has in his apartment. I slowly approached the little guy.  
I sure didn't want the kid to take one look at me and run before I  
had a chance to talk with him.  
  
The youngster gave me a puzzled look at first. I could see that he  
tried to come to a decision about whether to keep playing or to head  
to higher ground. He did neither. The little one must have figured I  
wasn't a threat to him and made his decision to talk to me.  
  
"Are you a stranger? Cause if you are I'm not allowed to talk to you."  
  
Obviously the kid isn't playing with a full deck or else he would  
know that he doesn't know me… right? Oy! I'm bad at this kind of stuff.  
  
"Who taught you that important rule?"  
  
"Mommy and daddy did," he answered quietly.  
  
"Where are your folks now?" There wasn't anyone near us for a ten  
mile radius. I made dead certain of that, having sent several teams  
out in the field taking the area apart looking for my other kid.  
  
"Don't member," the boy mumbled.  
  
I could still see he struggled with the right thing to do. So I tried  
to help him out. "I could take you to them if you show me the way."  
  
"Not here," was his two worded reply.  
  
"Pardon, you mean you're all by yourself?" I was incredulous that  
this child was all alone with no protection from anybody.  
  
The youngster gave a tiny shrug in response. "You sure do ask lots of  
questions, Mr."  
  
I think that was meant to put me in my place. So I thought a change  
of tactics was in order. "What cha doin' here playing with rocks?" It  
goes without saying that I would have loved to have heard the  
anticipated response in regards to _artifacts_ ; I could see that I  
would be doomed for disappointment.  
  
"Sploring. It's fun to splore. There's all kind of shiny stuff on  
this."  
  
"Maybe those little fingers of yours should be more careful until you  
know whether or not something's alright to touch." Whoops! Biiiig  
mistake! There's that *are you shittin' me* look. Maybe I should just  
shut my trap.  
  
"You sound like someone I knew," said the tot.  
  
"Really, who was that?"  
  
"Can't member. Sorry."  
  
The kid says that a lot. I should stop asking questions since it's  
obvious he hasn't the answers I'm looking for.  
  
"Hey Jack?"  
  
I turned at the call of my name and saw Lou and Teal'c descending on  
us. Guess they had enough of being in the background. "Yeah, Lou. No  
doubt about it."  
  
"O'Neill, it is really him?"  
  
"Yep, T. Even without the benefit of the doc's needles and tests.  
I'd know him anywhere." I knew Teal'c was excited, you just had to  
know him like I did to notice it. I motioned for my two friends to  
leave us alone again. I could see they weren't enamored of the idea,  
but it still says Colonel on my uniform. Besides, I didn't want to  
spook the kid anymore than he already was.  
  
Dollars to donuts, Oma had her glowy, ascended hands in this. Shit!  
We just got him back, in one piece for a change too. The kid's sizing  
me up again, still trying to decide if I'm one of the good guys or  
not. Trust me, kiddo, we've been from one end of the universe to the  
other together.  
  
I held out my hand and waited…and waited until I finally felt tiny  
fingers tickle my palm. "Good choice." I brushed off some dirt the  
kid had accumulated on his person from his _sploring_ fun. Then I  
picked him up and headed toward my team. As I carried my small  
burden, I contacted the other units to come back in.  
  
"We going home now?" The small child knew, deep down, he was never  
going to see his parents again and should put his trust in this  
soldier.  
  
"Yes, Danny, we are." There I said it. Finally admitted to myself  
that it didn't matter whether I spoke his name aloud or not. This is  
my kid… my responsibility… my family.  
  
"Want to hear a story? I can spin a pretty good yarn when I have  
too." I foresee a future filled with lots of stories and hoarse  
throats. Along with lots of questions from this special, little  
person.  
  
"Yarn is for making clothes and stuff, not for telling stories."  
  
"Who said, squirt?"  
  
"Don't member," we both said together which elicited some laughter  
from the boy.  
  
"Do you have a little boy like me too?"  
  
"Used too." I think Danny saw sadness fill me at his question. He  
nodded sagely and settled in my arms. One small hand snuck around my  
neck, while his other hand clutched part of my uniform tightly. Oh  
yeah, this kid has some issues to deal with. Hope I can help him in  
that department when the time comes.  
  
As I walked back to the gate, I saw Carter with her mouth hung open.  
Got to tell her that's so not a good look for her. I motioned for the  
Major to dial it up so we could be on our way.  
  
I felt a gentle tug on my sleeve and looked down to see a pair of  
bright eyes begging for a story. "Once upon a time there was an  
enchanted little boy that walked fearlessly among the stars and the  
mythical gods who inhabited them."  
  
"Like me?"  
  
"Did you travel from star to star too? I sure can't. I'd be afraid  
I'd never find my way back home."  
  
"I don't know if I did… maybe I did. I think I fell like a star. Can't  
member too good."  
  
"Fell, huh? That must have hurt?" I saw the wheels spinning in that  
overwork, little brain of his.  
  
The small boy huffed, rolled his eyes and gave the older man an  
exasperated look. "Told you I don't know." He stopped, scrunched up  
his face, opened his little mouth and said, "I was cold. Member that."  
  
I am not gonna jog that particular memory out of the kid. Oma gave  
him back to us buck naked from what I heard. I remember Danny boy  
being totally embarrassed whenever someone would bring the subject up.  
  
I held him closer to me as we're getting ready to leave. "Yeah, I bet  
you would be cold if you came down from up there." I pointed to the  
sky and watched the boy follow my finger and then grab it. He looked  
at me closely and I thought that maybe, just maybe, he remembered who  
I was. So I couldn't help myself. "Danny, you in there?"  
  
The child blinked and stared blankly at the colonel. "More story,  
please."  
  
Aw well, for a second I hoped to see a spark of recognition. "Sure,  
kiddo. Now where was I?"  
  
"You said that the little boy walked fearlessly among the stars."  
  
"So I did. The boy traveled with warrior companions. But these  
companions never seemed to be enough. The young lad always got into  
trouble...."  
  
"Like me?"  
  
"Do you get into trouble a lot?"  
  
"Mmmmm, I think so. I remember getting yelled at… a lot."  
  
He looked like he didn't want to admit that to me, but admitted it  
anyway. "So, your mom and dad scolded you for being bad. You must  
always be in trouble like the little boy in my story."  
  
"Wasn't mommy and daddy. I think it was – you. But I don't know you  
so that can't be right."  
  
"At the beginning you asked me if I was a stranger. I never answered  
your question. But to tell you the truth, we're not strangers. We  
know each other very well."  
  
"We do? I remember an old man with white hair. I guess you do look  
like him."  
  
I am so gonna kill Danny when we fix this *little* problem of  
his. "I'm not that old, kiddo. Just a bit worn around the edges is  
all."  
  
"Are you going to tell me the rest of the story?" he pleaded as he  
listened raptly to the older man as he continued his tale.  
  
"Okay, see the boy thought he could talk his way out of all kinds of  
trouble. But words weren't always the wisest choice. A lot of the  
time he found that out the hard way...." the rest of my words were  
swallowed up as Danny and I stepped through that swirling vortex  
known as the Stargate.  
  
The End


End file.
